


Pearls in the Sand

by a_denim_wrapped_nightmare



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Beaches, F/F, Ficlet, Post-Episode: Volleyball, Telekinesis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:47:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23350411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_denim_wrapped_nightmare/pseuds/a_denim_wrapped_nightmare
Summary: Two pearls share a moment by the sea.
Relationships: Pearl/Pink Diamond’s Original Pearl | Volleyball
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	Pearls in the Sand

**Author's Note:**

> Started writing this immediately after _Volleyball_ aired. Finished it a few minutes ago. As I'm typing this we have less than twenty minutes before the finale starts. I'm in fear. 
> 
> Anyway, here's a fic(let)!

Steven, tired from a long day of playing doctor and defying death, went inside to get some rest, leaving the pearls alone together on the shore. 

They’d let go of each other’s hands by now, and simply sat on the sand, watching the waves roll in. For a moment they forgot all about the endless sea of stars above, only thinking about the gentle ocean tides and the fine grains of silica beneath them. 

“Look!” said Volleyball with a soft gasp. Pearl turned to see her waving her hands above the sand as grains of it defied gravity and floated around her fingers. 

Pearl gasped. “You’re a psammokinetic, too?”

“Pardon?” Volleyball seemed puzzled, eye squinting in confusion. 

“Oh- you can control sand!” She’d figured other Pearls would have that ability, but she’d never gotten a chance to see it in action. Not that she’d used it much herself, anyway. It was fun, yes, but she'd never found much of a use for it. It'd never been strong enough to come in handy in combat, the grains weren't useful construction materials, and Rose… well, Rose never asked her to do it. Maybe she didn't even remember that Pearl had that ability. 

It was certainly news to Volleyball, who was fascinated by both the substance and her control over it. 

“Sand. I like it.”

She played with it for a little longer, before pausing, the sand abruptly freezing with her fingers and falling to the ground. A long quiet descended over them. Somewhere in the distance, a seagull cried out. The waves kept rolling in. There was a rhythm to it, but no two waves were identical. 

“Do you think I should stay here on Earth for a little while longer?”

Pearl smiled. 

“You can stay or leave whenever you want. That’s the beautiful thing about Earth. Though I suppose the rest of the universe has caught up with it.”

A hand softly fell above Pearl’s. 

“I had a thought just now. I wondered if this was what Pink wanted. If she wanted the whole universe to be free. I felt… I felt like I should know. But I don’t have to care about what she wants anymore. None of us do.”

Pearl turned around. Volleyball was smiling ever so slightly, water brimming in her eye. The moonlight caught on it, reflected as a glimmer of white. Pearl couldn’t look away. There was something beautiful about her fellow pearl’s face, cracks and all. 

For a moment, Pearl thought  _ that's just what Rose would think if she was here now. She found beauty in everything.  _ And then she amended it;  _ and Rose or no Rose, I can see the world’s true majesty for myself. I can see it in the sea and in the sky and in the sand. I- I can  _ feel  _ it in the sand.  _

_ Her hand’s pushing my hand into it. It's gentle.  _

_ It's nice.  _

Without really knowing why, she leaned in closer to Volleyball. An equally mysterious force nudged Volleyball closer to her. Slowly but surely, they tilted towards one another, eyes drifting shut. As she leaned further, she began to realize - the thought flowing through her mind like honey - that this must be what the humans call-

_ Poke!  _

Pearl’s eyes snapped open as something hit the tip of her nose. Within a split-second, she connected the dots - that something was the tip of Volleyball’s. And Volleyball looked taken aback as well. 

Pearl let a giggle out. 

Goodness, they can pull off a daring escape with the elegance of a ribbon in the wind, but having one little romantic moment? Too big of an ask, apparently! It was absurd - the wonderful kind of absurd. The sort of imperfection that made this universe, this free new world, worth being a part of. And the sort of silly mistake that almost demanded to be laughed at. 

So she laughed. And Volleyball must have thought something along those same lines, because she joined in the laughter. The tension dissolved like salt in the sea, leaving two pearls in the sand, having a blast together. Nobody there to guide them but themselves, nobody to quiet them down. 

Until Volleyball swooped in and silenced them both. 

Pearl froze in place. An electric shock rippled from her lips to the ends of her physical form. She caught a glimpse of Volleyball’s shut eye before it occurred to her to close her own. Volleyball had come in at an angle, keeping their noses out of each other's way so that their lips could bridge the gap. Tiny shock after shock rushed through them and into the sand, lifting the grains high to match the altitudes their gems felt like they were soaring to. 

After a moment, Volleyball pulled away. Pearl opened her eyes to see ribbons of sand fall apart and down, with Volleyball in the middle - the smallest of smiles gracing her form. 

“Is that better?”

Pearl smiled, placing a hand behind one of Volleyball’s curls. 

_ “It's wonderful.” _


End file.
